Although the distance from the village to Qijilin is three or four kilometers away, to the soldiers riding bicycles, this distance is nothing.
In less than ten minutes, the commanders and fighters riding at the front had reached the edge of the city. Before the German sentries could recover, the Soviet soldiers who jumped out of the vehicles pointed their black guns at them.
When the brigade of Soviet commanders and fighters rode bicycles and entered the city in a mighty manner, the Germans finally came to their senses and fired to intercept, and the battle in the city officially began.
Since Qijilin was occupied by the Germans, there has been no fighting for two years, and the original defenses in the city have been demolished. Today, when he learned that the Soviet army's next attack target might be Qijilin, the city defense commander hurriedly issued an order for the officers and soldiers in the city to build barricades at various intersections.
Due to the tight time, the shortage of materials, and the private information received by the German officers and soldiers, the Soviet army will not be able to reach the outskirts of the city until after noon tomorrow. Therefore, they are not very active in building fortifications, so that the Soviet advance group When they rushed into the city, the barricades that should have been repaired long ago were still in their infancy.
Without decent fortifications, it was impossible for the German officers and soldiers to withstand the influx of Soviet commanders and fighters. For a time, they were beaten back steadily. In less than half an hour, the commanders and fighters of the 258th Regiment occupied two blocks.
Although the Soviet attack was swift and violent, due to the small number of troops, after occupying two blocks, only the 2nd Battalion remained to continue the offensive. As for the 1st and 3rd Battalions, Belgin left behind and occupied them. blocks and established several strong fire support points to prevent possible German counterattacks.
Although the German troops in Chijilin were caught off guard, they were well-trained after all. They quickly woke up from the chaos, and troops stationed everywhere rushed to the fighting site to prevent the Soviet army from advancing further.
At this moment, Belkin was staying on the second floor of a building with his chief of staff. He held up his binoculars to observe the combat area outside. He found that his troops were weak in attack due to the reduction in strength. On the contrary, as more and more reinforcements arrived from all over the Germans, they gradually shifted from the original defense to a counterattack.
He put down the telescope, turned to ask the chief of staff who was standing behind the operator, and asked sternly: "How are you doing? Have you contacted the follow-up troops?"
"No, comrade colonel." Upon hearing Belkin's question, the chief of staff hurriedly replied: "They may be on the march and unable to receive our telegrams."
Knowing that he had not been able to get in touch with the follow-up troops, Belkin could not help but sigh softly, and then ordered the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, contact the commander of the second battalion immediately and order him to stop the attack. The troops alternately covered the withdrawal of the first battalion and The block defended by the third battalion was here to resist the German attack.”
"What, stop the attack?" After hearing Belkin's words, the chief of staff said in surprise: "I think we can order the second battalion to continue to advance and try to capture another street. If the troops are insufficient, we can order the first battalion and The third battalion mobilizes manpower for reinforcements, leaving one company per street, which is more than enough."
"No, Comrade Chief of Staff, our troops are limited. Even if we capture the third street, we may not be able to hold it." Belkin shook his head and rejected the Chief of Staff's suggestion: "It's better to shrink the troops back as soon as possible and hold on with all our strength. The two streets occupied are waiting for the arrival of the main force."
After hearing what Belkin said, the regiment chief of staff could only agree, and then ordered the telegraph operator to call the commander of the second battalion and ask him to lead his troops back to the defense areas of the first and third battalions to prepare to fight the German attack in these areas.
…………
Not long after Chigirin's offensive battle started, Sokov received a call from Konev: "Comrade Sokov, this is Konev."
"Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov knew that the other party would not take the initiative to call him because he had nothing important to do, so he quickly asked respectfully: "May I ask what instructions you have."
"Immediately hand over the work at hand to the chief of staff, General Samyko." Konev said on the other end of the phone: "Then you take the plane I sent and come to Novorlik."
Although Sokov had a sense of fear for aircraft of this era, since it was an order given by Konev, he would definitely not disobey it. He could only bite the bullet and replied: "I understand, Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I will follow The plane you sent is bound for New Orlic."
Sokov put down the phone and told Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, General Konev just called me and ordered me to rush to Novo-Orlik immediately. I'm not sure why he suddenly recruited me there. , but during my absence, all affairs in the headquarters will be handled by you."
After learning that Sokov was recruited by Konev to Novorlik, Samyko quickly looked down at the map on the table. After looking at it for a while, he looked up and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I understand General Konev." That’s my intention.”
"What's the purpose?" Sokov asked.
"Look here," Samyko pointed at the map and said to Sokov: "Across the river from Novorlik, it is right between Chigirin and Cherkasy. If a certain force succeeds in crossing here, it will It can successfully cut off the connection between the two cities."
“Not long ago, General Fomenko reported to me,” Sokov said disapprovingly after reading the map: “Their division has already launched an attack on Chigilin, and I believe it won’t take long to capture the city. He pointed his finger at the empty space between the two cities, "Now that we have captured Qijilin, it doesn't make much sense for the friendly forces to establish a landing site here."
"I think so too." Sameko said in agreement: "Although the water flow in this section of the river is slow, it is also the widest in area, about 1,200 to 1,300 meters wide. The assumption of a floating bridge is a big problem." said At this point, he shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said helplessly, "But an order is an order. Since General Konev asked you to go to New Orlik, go and have a look. Maybe you can persuade me." He changed his mind."
About half an hour later, the pilot who flew over appeared in Sokov's headquarters. When Sokov saw that he was an acquaintance, he was the one who sent his group to the headquarters for a meeting not long ago. He quickly stepped forward to shake hands with the other person and said in a friendly tone: "Hello, comrade pilot, I didn't expect to see you again so soon. You."
The pilot said politely: "General Sokov, are you ready?"
"Ready and ready to go."
"Then please come with me." The pilot said: "I came here from the airport in a jeep. Now the car is parked outside the door. We can go to the airport at any time."
Before leaving, Sokov specifically told Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, now the 84th Division is attacking Chigilin. I'm worried that they don't have enough troops. You have to urge the 188th Division to speed up their march, and it must be done before dawn tomorrow." , rushed over to join the 84th Division."
Sokov got on the plane at the airport in the north of Kremenchug, and landed in an open space in New Orlik in less than half an hour.
Near where the plane landed, there was an open jeep parked with a captain and the driver chatting. After the plane stopped and Sokov got off the plane, the captain quickly ran to him, raised his hand in salute and asked: "Is this General Sokov?"
"Yes, I'm Sokov."
"Hello, Comrade General." The captain said respectfully: "Comrade Commander ordered me to pick you up. Please get in the car and I will take you to see Comrade Commander."
After Sokov got on the bus, he saw many Soviet commanders and fighters moving nearby, so he curiously asked the captain: "Comrade Captain, can you tell me the number of the nearby troops?"
The numbers of the nearby troops were not confidential, so the captain naturally would not hide it from Sokov and said casually: "It's the 7th Guards Army of General Shumilov." Then he patted the driver on the shoulder with his hand and said, "Drive. !”
On the way, Sokov asked curiously: "Comrade Captain, so the 7th Guards Army plans to cross the Dnieper River from here?"
"Yes, Comrade General." The captain also did not hide this, because even if he didn't tell him, Sokov would still be able to get the answer from Konev in a few minutes at most. If he told him in advance, he might still be able to get the answer. Gaining his favor: "The troops of the 7th Guards Army plan to cross the river from here and establish a landing site on the other side. Now Comrade Commander and General Shumilov are going to check the terrain."
The driver drove the jeep to an area where many jeeps were parked and many soldiers were on guard. When the car stopped, the captain turned to Sokov and said: "General Sokov, we are here."
Sokov looked around and found that almost all the riverside here was covered with weeds as tall as half a person. There was a group of people standing in the grass fifty or sixty meters away. Half of them were wearing big-brimmed hats. Analyzing this point, Konev and Shumilov are there. However, before getting out of the car, Sokov specifically asked the captain: "Comrade Captain, where is the comrade Commander of the Front Army, right?"
"Yes, General Sokov." The captain nodded and replied in a positive tone: "Comrade Commander is right there. Please hurry over. He is probably impatient."
After Sokov thanked the captain, he quickly walked towards Konev's location. Although some soldiers stepped forward to stop Sokov, after seeing his rank clearly, they immediately took a step back to make way for him and raised their hands in salute.
After seeing Konev in the crowd, Sokov raised his hand to salute him and reported in accordance with the order: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, Major General Sokov, Commander of the 27th Group Army, is here on your order..."
Before Sokov could finish his report, Konev raised his hand, pulled his hand down, held it tightly, shook it vigorously a few times, and said with a smile: "Welcome, Comrade Sokov, you Our troops performed well in today’s battle.”
Hearing Konev's compliment, Sokov grinned. When he was about to talk, a familiar voice came from beside him: "Hello, General Sokov, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon."
Sokov turned his head and looked in the direction of the sound. It turned out that the person talking to him was Shumilov. He quickly went over to salute him, shook hands with him, and said enthusiastically: "Hello, General Shumilov, it looks like you are going to It won't be long before our two armies will fight side by side again."
"You are right, Comrade Sokov." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Konev on the side intervened: "I called you here just to prepare you to discuss with General Shumilov. Matters of coordinated operations.”
"Coordinated operations?!" Sokov heard what Konev said and murmured in his heart: "What kind of coordinated method? Do you want my troops to occupy the other side and help them build a pontoon bridge on the wide Dnieper River?"
"By the way, before assigning the task, let me introduce you to someone first." Konev called a middle-aged general standing not far away and introduced him to Sokov: "Let's get to know him. This is Major General Pulyaskin, director of the engineering corps of the 7th Guards Army."
"Hello, Comrade General." After Sokov stepped forward to shake hands with the other party, he asked with some surprise: "Is it not an easy task to build a pontoon bridge on such a wide river?"
Sokov was just saying a few polite words, but after hearing this, Pulyaskin nodded and said with a sad face: "General Sokov, you are right. Setting up a pontoon bridge here is indeed a very special task." Difficult things.”
Before Sokov could ask again, Pulyaskin took the initiative and said: "According to our measurements, the width of the river here is 1,230 meters. The enemy on the other side has not yet built a continuous defense, so it is the best place for us to cross the river. But it is surprising Unfortunately, apart from a few rubber boats, there is almost no equipment for crossing the river. Both sides of the river are grasslands without forests, so auxiliary materials for building rafts and bridges are nowhere to be found. Apart from willow bushes, there is nothing on the shore. No."
Sokov never dreamed that the difficulty mentioned by Plyaskin was actually a problem with the materials for building the bridge. He hesitated for a while and then asked: "Comrade General, didn't your troops collect the necessary boats or planks from abandoned villages when they advanced toward the Dnieper River?"
"General Sokov," Pulyaskin continued: "Of the things you mentioned, individual commanders and fighters with foresight did collect a lot during the march. But for the entire army group, they are too much. Less. We are thinking about where to collect materials to erect the pontoon bridge."
"Don't be anxious, Comrade General." Sokov had just arrived, and he didn't know where to collect bridge-building materials nearby. He could only comfort him vaguely and said: "Let the commanders and soldiers expand the search area, and I think they will be able to find what you are looking for." Bridging materials needed.”
After saying these words, Sokov turned to Konev and asked respectfully: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I would like to ask, what new combat tasks do you want to assign to me?"
